My 10 year old son is football mad but doesn’t support a team. As one of his “10 treats for 10” birthday surprises, I booked a VIP Tour of Wembley Stadium. I would definitely recommend the Wembley Stadium VIP Tour for kids.
As luck would have it, our tour, booked months previously, was on the afternoon of the England-Spain Euros final. We thought it might have been auspicious but sadly it wasn’t coming home…. Nonetheless, the atmosphere around Wembley that afternoon was buzzing and the tour was fabulous.
Regular or VIP Tour
Having a private tour was a bonus. It gave the guide time to get to know my son and to show him things which particularly appealed to him. My son had been chatting to our guide, Chris, about his love of rock music. ACDC had played Wembley a few weeks previously and Chris took my son right into an area of the dressing room which had been set up as part of ACDC’s rider and he got to sit on Angus’ £8,000 chair. Apparently, this had been left in situ for Bruce Springsteen to use!
However, my main reasoning for choosing the VIP Tour was that you get to access areas not visitable on the regular tour. That said, the groups on the regular tours still looked to be having a great experience. I think as a present, the VIP Tour is more special. We did feel that we were getting quite exclusive access and info. However, if I was visiting with a group, I think the regular tour would be fine and its half the price.
Highlights of the Tour
We loved everything about the tour. However, if I had to pick highlights, it would be the players’ changing room (which is all set up with their shirts, boots and gloves), walking out on to the pitch, sitting in the seats reserved for the Royal Family, and holding up a duplicate of the FA Cup!
You start with a museum section. This has a strong football focus but also includes memorabilia from other sports played at the stadium, as well as photographs of music artists who have played Wembley and some of their instruments.
The VIP Tour then goes up to the top of the stadium and the private boxes. We got to explore the Box previously owned by Roman Abramovich. This was in fact was 3 boxes knocked together, with bar, dining area etc. We then headed out for our first views over the stadium from the box seats.
The tour then heads down to the changing rooms and warm up rooms. We also get to sit in the seats used by managers and players in the Press Conference room. Then came the moment all football fans will cherish, we walked out through the tunnel onto the pitch! This is a little cheesy with canned cheering played. However, my son loved the experience and it was fantastic to stand out on the centre circle. I believe you can only walk out to the centre circle when the pitch is covered, i.e. not during the main football season.
How to visit Wembley Stadium
Tickets
You can buy tickets for the different tours online, click here. Slots for the VIP Tours are much more limited but the regular tours run most days when no event is happening. I believe you can also book tours to link in with tickets for a game – these are super expensive though!
The VIP Tour costs £70 for an adult and £50 for a child. Compared to many London attractions, I felt this was good value for a 2 hour private guided tour. Tickets for the regular tour are £25 for adults and £18 for children if booked in advance online. They are a few £ more if you pay on the door.
How to get to Wembley
The closest tube station is Wembley Park which is less than 10 minutes walk from the station. You walk up Olympic Way and can’t miss the stadium in front of you. Wembley Park is on the Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines.
We travelled into Wembley Central, which is on the Bakerloo Line. This is a 20-25 minute walk but is easy to find and not unpleasant. i found Google Directions on my phone were straightforward. There are also signs to the Stadium once you exit the station. Wembley Central is also a railway station with direct links to Clapham Junction and Euston.
Food and Drink
There is nothing open in the Stadium itself when the tours are on. However, there are pedestrian streets running alongside the Stadium which features many national change restaurants such as Nandos, Las Iguanas, TGI Fridays, Wagamamas etc.
I always want to try something a bit different when I go up to London, rather than a restaurant I can find on my high street at home. We went to Boxpark Wembley and I would definitely recommend it. Boxpark hosts a number of diverse street food traders with a central seating area for guests. Bookings for tables are only for larger groups but we had no trouble getting seats on a shared table on a busy Sunday lunchtime.
Whilst the traders will change, when we visited we were tempted by German doner kebabs, Yorkshire burritos (in a Yorkshire pudding in case you were wondering), Indian wraps, fresh pasta, churros, Thai and pizzas. However, we both went for the dressed up hotdogs and loaded fries at Ipanema BBQ. If Brazilian food is always this good, I’m on the next plane there!
What else should I do in London with older kids?
There are so many fun things to do but if your kids have energy to burn after your Wembley Stadium VIP Tour, you could try some table tennis fun at Bounce – see my review of our time there here.
